What's In a Name?
by XDarkAngelOfLoveX
Summary: It had been three days since Sesshomaru had rescued the little girl in the forest. Three days she had been following him none stop, and for three days she hadn't spoken one word. Please R&R


It had been three days since Sesshomaru had rescued the little girl in the forest. Three days she had been following him none stop, and for three days she hadn't spoken one word.

The power of the Tenseiga had worked wonders on the girl; not only had it bought her back from the dead, but it healed every wound on her body. But the sword did nothing to make the girl talk. Ignoring Jaken's loud protests, Sesshomaru had acquired a new kimono for the girl and made sure she was fed every few hours. Sesshomaru had not spoken to her at all him self, but Jaken had been nagging at the girl non stop to get information out of her. Who was she? How long did she plan on following Sesshomaru-sama? Why did she not speak one single word? Was she born that way or did she choose not too speak?

On the third day Sesshomaru had had quite enough of his inquires. His voice sounded like claws running over a smooth rock to his youkai ears.

"Jaken, shut up for one day." He commanded not even giving the little toad a glance over his shoulder.

"Y-yes Sesshomaru-sama; forgive me." They traveled for the rest of the day in blissful silence.

The day began to fade away and as the stars appeared in the sky, Rin let out a yawn and started to rub her sleepy eyes. Jaken scoffed at the girl and told her that she must build up her stamina if she wished to continue following Sesshomaru-sama, because he would not continue to stop at night just because she was tired. He had more important things to do with his time then to cater to a human girl such as herself, like chasing down Naraku.

Rin didn't know who this Naraku was, but she nodded in acknowledgement to Jaken. He was right, if she wanted to follow this man she needed to not aggravate or hinder him in any way. As she lifted her arms to stretch them, she felt a hand come underneath her and lift her in the air. Before she knew what had happened she was sitting atop the great beast known as Ah-Un.

"I will not stop tonight, but she may rest on Ah-Un." Sesshomaru handed her the reins to the beast, and silenced Jaken with a single icy glare before he could even open his mouth to say a word. Rin smiled to her self as her eye lids became heavy with sleep. The last thing she saw before drifting off was Sesshomaru glance her way as he walked next to Ah-Un.

She woke up later that night and found that they were still on the move. She shouldn't have been surprised about the kind of stamina that youkai possessed, she had seen it many times, but she still had to wonder if they EVER slept.

"So you are awake now huh girl? I suppose you want to bug Sesshomaru-sama to stop to get you food now?" To tell the truth she was hungry. She had gone to sleep hungry and the time that had passed since then had only made it worse. But she didn't want to be a burden on her new Lord, so she shook her no and continued to sit in silence on Ah-Un. The tiny group continued to move on for another hour or so before her stomach started to voice its own opinion on the situation. She held her hands on her stomach to try and quiet it down, but it was no use. She was hungry and that was all there was to it.

No one said anything about the girls rumbling stomach, but Sesshomaru smelt a stream a little ways to the north, and he didn't think it would take much time to get the girl some nourishment. It never occurred to him to wonder why he should care if she ate or not, but he did, and he just knew he needed to feed her.

As they came across the little stream he told Jaken to feed the girl and be quick about it. Though the little youkai didn't seem too happy about his new role as a human baby sitter, he said nothing and walked with Rin over to the stream to catch dinner. They caught enough fish to feed the girl and for Jaken to have a few him self. Sesshomaru did not need to eat the way his companions did, nor did he eat most of what they did, so he sat in silence listening to the crackling of the fire and looking at the stars. Rin, as usual, didn't speak a word though dinner, or as they cleaned up and put out the fire. After they made sure the fire was good and out, they resumed their journey, with Rin riding on Ah-Un's back once again.

Normally as they traveled Sesshomaru headed the group, leading the way in one direction or another. But tonight he fell back and walked next to Ah-Un and Rin, with Jaken leading the way, quietly for once. Rin tried to just look straight ahead, but her eyes kept wandering over the beautiful man that had saved her life. She was defiantly grateful for what he had done for her, but there was something more to it. Something deep inside her told her that she need to follow this man. She didn't know for how long or why, but she knew she had to be with him.

She even liked the little toad youkai, who couldn't seem to keep his comments to him self unless instructed too. He was loud and annoying, but he was funny, so she liked him. She started thinking back to the last few days, and how many times he had simply asked to know her name, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the words to leave her mouth. She hadn't been born like this, she had been an energetic, talkative little girl, with parents that loved her a little less then a year ago. But the bandits had changed that. She could still recall that night in her mind as clear as day. Her mother had woken her up, shaking her and gripping her arms almost to the point that it hurt.

"Momma, wha-"

"Shhh, listen to me RIn, get down in the rice room and don't make a sound. Do you understand me? Do NOT make one sound, not a peep or they will hear you. Go koishii, go!" Her mother had looked so scared as she pushed her into the little trap door that opened to the rice room. She heard her mother pull one of the animal skin rugs over the door and whisper I love you, just as the flap to their house was ripped off the entrance way. She couldn't see the men, but she could hear them laugh as her mother told them they had nothing of value, that they were a poor family. Rin moved deeper into the rice room and looked up through some of the cracks in the floor. She still couldn't see the men, but she could see her mother. She saw one of the men, the leader she thought, step up and slap her mother across the face, knocking her to the ground.

"Got nothin for us huh? No rice? Nothing of value? No children we can sell? Then why are you still living?" He kicked her mother hard in the stomach, making her cough up blood. Rin almost cried out, but her mothers words came back to her. 'Do NOT make one sound, not one peep or they will hear you!' Rin clamped her hand over her mouth and watched as the man beat her mother to death, and then leave the hut, as if nothing had happened. Rin was too petrified to move. She was found the next day still down in the rice room by a few of the neighbor men that new her family had the room. She learned that her father had been killed the night before out in the rice fields, along with a few of the other village men. The bandits had gone around taking anything they could get their hands on, and killing anyone that got in their way, or had displeased them, or had just looked at them wrong.

The people of the village had tried for weeks to get little Rin to talk, or to make a sound, ANY sound. But it was no use. Her mother's words just kept playing in her mind. 'Not a peep or they will hear you!' She knew the bandits were long gone, and that she could talk just fine and they couldn't hear her, but every time she tried to talk, her mouth wouldn't work. She could see the words form in her head, but they wouldn't come out. So she continued to live that way, mute, until the day of the wolf attack. The fear of the wolves had driven her into the woods to find the beautiful man she had been bringing food to for the last few days. She thought that maybe he could save her, and if not, then all she wanted was to see him one last time before she died.

She tripped. And the last thing she remembered was the bite of the wolves fangs into her flesh. Then she was awake, and in the arm of the beautiful man she had wanted to see so bad. He didn't say one word, just turned around and walked away. Before she knew what she was doing, she began walking after him.

She smiled to herself, thinking back to the loud protests that Jaken-sama had voiced, but in the end, in her mind, she had won him over. She knew she had to try to talk. All that Jaken-sama wanted was her name, and since she could not spell yet, she needed to speak it to him. She found her self looking over at Sesshomaru-sama once more, but this time he was looking back at her. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. it was almost as if he was demanding her attention. He stopped walking, and Ah-Un did the same. At eye level with Sesshomaru-sama, he spoke to her for the first time since she had joined their little group.

"Girl, what is your name?" He waited for her response.

"Sesshomaru-sama I believe it is a waste of time to talk to the girl there is obviously something wrong with h-"

"Rin."

The toad Youkai stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the girl with his mouth hanging open in disbelief. He had been trying for three days to get the girl to make even a peep and she tells Sesshomaru-sama her name the second he asks? He would never admit it, but he was a little offended.

"Rin you say?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yes, my name is Rin." The words just flew from her mouth on their own accord. She was surprised at her self as well, but she was happy that her mouth seemed to be working again. Maybe it was the fact that she was with this man that she felt it was okay to speak again. He would protect her from the bandits. She knew he would. And maybe it was just the simple fact that HE was the one who wanted to know her name. She felt that she would do whatever he wanted her to, and if he wanted her name, then she would give it to him.

"Alright then Rin." And with that, Sesshomaru took the lead of the small group once again. Jaken climbed atop of Ah-Un to interrogate Rin once more, but she didn't speak again that night. She would wait until her Sesshomaru-sama talked to her once again before uttering a peep. And within a month of traveling with the youkai, she was back to her old self. Back to the happy, energetic, talkative little girl she had been before her run in with the bandits.

And it was all thanks to five little words, spoken by the right person.


End file.
